JUST because something is long and postponing doesn't mean it's good says JACKIE, and dragging old age out until your a centenarian will end up being a costly business.

Alexander Imich turned 111 in February and is the world's oldest validated male centenarian

“HOW long can this go on?” pleaded Alexander Imich this week.” Was he watching Eurovision or waiting for the snooker to end?

New Yorker Alexander is 111 and is the world’s oldest man. He was talking about his long life and after giving up smoking, never drinking alcohol and eating little, personally I can see his point.

Freddie Mercury knocked it on the head when he sang, Who Wants To Live Forever? But increasingly we might not have a choice, as people like us – who live in developed, comparatively rich, countries – are getting on.

The idea of being around as a centenarian simply to annoy my off-spring is enticing but the quote “old age isn’t for sissies” is apt. If you’re lucky and your brain is sharp, the rest of you falls apart.

As ever, science is on the case and we learned this week that young blood could hold the key to everlasting youth or at least help a bit.

Experiments found that older mice who received transfused blood from younger mice performed better at learning and memory tasks.

I would suggest there must be a limit to the skills your average rodent can take in and be tested on but I’ll take the boffins’ word for it.

Nevertheless their findings showed the brain was rejuvenated by the blood so if I was minded to reach a grand old age, it would mean that number one son’s next driving lesson could be costly.

Instead of weeding or taking care of the cats’ litter trays, he would make a small donation to the family blood bank. Frankly, I’d rather he was elbow deep in cat poo.

Until a miracle is found, do I really want to live to a ridiculously old age with the body that once allowed me to run and do daft disco-dancing letting me down at every creaking turn?

Something enjoyable isn’t necessarily enhanced by making it go on forever. It’s a bit like tantric sex – the concept is fine but after a few hours, I’d be thinking about the ironing.

A medic friend says in a 30-year career there have only been two occasions when patients about to undergo potentially life-saving operations said they were ready to die.

As it turns out, we won’t have any great say in the matter as the march of time and technology extends our existence.

But as we watch young people die of what could potentially be treatable illnesses, I’m uneasy about the time and money being spent attempting to turn back our ageing body clocks.

Of course, I say this as a 50-something. What’s the betting that if I reach my 80s I will be clinging on to life for grim death.

*Lily Allen has been complaining about the shrinking amount of money made by today’s pop stars. She says the fact that people don’t buy music means she can only make serious cash through personal appearances or endorsements. Gone are the days when pop stars used to chuck TVs out of hotel room windows. Now I presume the poor souls take them home and put them on eBay.

Getty Images/Jim Dyson

Lily Allen's new album 'Sheezus' came out on Monday

*Adventurer and Chief Scout Bear Grylls says kids of today shouldn’t be wrapped in cotton wool and need to “embrace risk”. The father of three boys has taught his sons to take care of themselves and he wants survival skills to be part of the National Curriculum. His boys are called Huckleberry, Jesse and Marmaduke. I can see why those skills might come in handy.

*Unveiled this week, the smart fridge from LG that takes a photograph of your food, sends it to you and tells you what you need. In my case, it’s a visit from environmental health, as I’m sure I have Parmesan in the back of my fridge that pre-dates Devolution.

*Wouldn’t it be better to have a fridge that takes a photo of you every timeyou sneak in there – and automatically emails it to your friends? Rather than dieters sticking inspirational photos on the fridge door, a snap that shames from the inside would truly be useful technology.